


In a land of Myth....

by clar1468, Frostironlover



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, On Hiatus, Other, Pining, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 05 AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22018573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clar1468/pseuds/clar1468, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostironlover/pseuds/Frostironlover
Summary: In a land of myth and a time of magic. The destiny of a bratty king rests on the shoulders of a young idiot. His name is….Merlin.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is pretty much the same expect Arthur and Gwaine survives, also Arthur and Gwen is not a thing at all and they never have been. It’s a normal day in Camelot, everything is as it should be except for one tiny thing... Merlin isn’t there. Merlin’s mom had been hurt and Merlin went to be with her until she gets well again, he had been gone for a week due to it. Arthur isn’t going to admit it, but he’s missing Merlin...a lot. He felt so alone and helpless without him, not without reason though. He is a bit helpless, he can’t get dressed properly without Merlin, and he had to ask Gaius for help, which was embarrassing for both of them.

The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. Arthur lays in bed awaiting the usual “Good morning sire” from Merlin, but it doesn't come. He just lays there for a while, hoping that Merlin is just late, but soon he can’t wait any longer, and he has to get up. He sighs deeply and rolls out of bed, hesitantly walking over to get dressed, he doesn’t want to ask Gaius for help yet again, he should be able to do it on his own, he is 25 years old for god’s sake. 

After a long while of struggling to get dressed, he finally manages to do so and look decent. He used his time getting dressed to think, most of his thoughts were about Merlin, he kept popping up in his mind. He had decided that he won’t wait for Merlin to return anymore, he is going to get him and bring him home to where he belongs. 

He finds the stable boy and asks him to prepare him a horse, Gwen catches him doing this. “Where are you going, Sire?” She asks in her familiar soft voice. “I’m getting Merlin” He quickly replies, not even looking at her, busy with packing his bags. “Why? He said he’ll return once his mother is well, shouldn’t you just stay and wait? You have a kingdom to rule after all” Gwen says, trying to reason with Arthur and make him stay. “I’m not changing my mind Guinevere” He simple replies as he gets on his horse and rides out of Camelot. 

The journey to Ealdor was not that long and luckily it isn’t as dangerous as it used to be now that Albion is one peaceful nation. 

Around noon two days later, he arrives at Ealdor. His presence causes a lot of attention and soon the whole city is surrounding him expect Merlin and his mother. Arthur sighs quietly to himself and gets down from the horse, tying it to a pole. "Sire, may I ask why we are blessed by your presence here on this day?" A villager asks. He cringes a little to himself, even after years of ruling the kingdom, he still isn't used to formality of the civilians in the kingdom. "I'm looking for Merlin" he announces. A small girl shyly tucks on Arthur's cape. She points to a small house. Arthur ruffles her hair gently and smiles. "Thank you for your help," he says before walking towards the house. 

Arthur considers if he should just walk in, but he decides it'll be better to knock first, so that's what he does. "Come in" Merlin's voice calls out, Arthur isn't going to admit it, but he had really missed Merlin's voice. He walks in and closes the door after himself. "Hello" he quietly says. It takes all his willpower to not just run over and hug Merlin. "Arthur? What are you doing here? Is there trouble back in Camelot?" Merlin asked, making that cute expression he always makes when he's scared. Arthur goes to hug Merlin, he just couldn't resist it anymore. "Everything is well in Camelot, I just came because...Gaius is really missing a helping hand or that's what he said...he's just worried about you" Arthur says, most of it being a lie. The knights had been great at helping Gaius, so there wasn't any problem there and the part about Gaius worrying wasn't true either, Gaius has nothing to worry about regarding Merlin's return, he knows Merlin can't leave Arthur forever, everyone knows that to expect Arthur, of course. 

Hunith is just smiling softly in the background, even she sees the love between them, she's seen it since day one, they really are two sides of the same coin. 

"You can tell him he doesn't have to worry, I'll probably ride back in the next couple of days," Merlin says, smiling softly, his cute dimples showing up. Arthur almost melts, Merlin's smile goes straight to his heart, he could stare at it for hours. Then the realization hits him. "A couple of days?" He quietly asks. Merlin nods and is about to say something when Hunith breaks in. "I'm alright Merlin, I can handle myself from now on," she says, now standing behind Merlin and lovingly squeezing Merlin's scrawny shoulders. Merlin looks at her, frowning ever so slightly as he nods. "We could ride out at dusk tomorrow, then you'll have the rest of today with your mother" Arthur suggests, he doesn't want to see Merlin upset, but he really wants him to come home with him. Merlin smiles and nods. 

Merlin and Arthur had gone to collect firewood, stacking up on Hunith's stash so it's easier for her once Merlin goes back to Camelot. "A lot of people miss you back in Camelot” Arthur says, breaking the silence. "People? So not you?" Merlin asks a small smirk on his lips. "Of course not, you're a terrible servant" Arthur now starts their typical banter. Merlin makes a cute little nosey laugh. "But I am better than that boot-licking replacement servant you have" "no, you're just more exciting," Arthur says, smirking. Merlin smiles, looking all proud. "I'm exciting?" He asks. Arthur sighs and chuckle. "Don't let it get to your head, you….clotpole". The banter continues until they return to Hunith's house.

They haven't been in the house for long before there's a knock on the door. Merlin goes to open, seeing a young women standing there, blushing and even acting like a love struck school girl. "Is it true that King Arthur is here? Can I talk to him?" She asks, her voice overly sweet. Merlin knows where this is going and it disgusts him, but he doesn't let it show. "Of course, I'll get him" he answers, faking a smile. He goes to Arthur and again tries to hide the disgust he feels towards the woman, he doesn't want Arthur to ask questions about it afterwards. There's a woman at the door, she wishes to speak to you" Merlin says, coming of a bit too formal, but Arthur doesn't seem to notice, he just nods and walk to the door. "Hello, what do you wish to talk to me about?" Arthur asks. The woman blushes even more. "You're more handsome than people say” she says, looking shyly at the ground. "Yes, I hear that quite often, but I doubt that what you want to talk about" Arthur says, smiling kindly at her, he can't let her notice that he isn't flattered by the compliment. "I actually just wanted to see you, I'm sorry if I wasted your time" she says, now seeming a tad bit embarrassed. Arthur takes a smile, acting like it no problem. "It's alright, but I must get going now," he says and close the door. He rolls his eyes and walks over to Merlin. "Couldn't you have said I wasn't here? She doesn't want to speak of anything of importance, she just wanted to see me...a waste of time" he mumbles, annoyance clear in his voice.

Their day goes on pretty calmly from that point, and they get around to the time they have to sleep. Merlin and Arthur are laying next to each other on the floor. "This reminds me of the time we had to fight Cainen...it was so long ago," Arthur says quietly, chuckling a little. He doesn't want to wake up Hunith. Merlin smiles but it quickly fades, his eyes become watery, and he sniffles. Arthur looks at him with concern and sorrow. "What's wrong?" He asks. "Nothing, I just remembered Will…." Merlin whispers, his voice weak and shaky.  
Arthur goes quiet for a bit, the only noise in the room is Merlin's sniffles. "I'm sorry Merlin...he was a brave man," Arthur says, trying to comfort Merlin. (I made myself tear up with this xD). Merlin nods and wipe the tears from his cheeks. Arthur reaches over and gives Merlin's lanky shoulder a comforting squeeze. Merlin turns to Arthur, smiling weakly at him. Arthur wishes for nothing more than to ease Merlin's pain. Arthur moves over to Merlin and gently hold him, comforting him silently and lulling him back to sleep. He carefully moves back once Merlin is asleep and soon fall asleep too.


	2. Chapter 2

They arrive back at Camelot, most people being asleep at this early hours. The ride home felt much shorter than it did on the way to get Merlin home. Time always seems to get faster when Merlin is around, sometimes Arthur even thinks Merlin is using some weird spell. Merlin uses his magic much more now that it’s legal and Arthur knows about it, he often uses it to prank or entertain Arthur or the knights.

Merlin gets off the horse and turn to Arthur and wait for him to get off his horse, so he can put them in the stable. Arthur goes inside and up to his chamber, he could definitely use some sleep, but soon the kingdom will wake up, and he has duties to fulfil. Merlin arrives with breakfast shortly after, they had already eaten at Hunith’s house before leaving, but Merlin knows that Arthur dislikes the porridge, so he barely ate anything. “You got me breakfast?” Arthur asks surprised, he had thought he would have to sneak out later to get some, but now that won’t be necessary. “Yeah, I know you ain’t keen on my mother’s porridge,” Merlin says and set the table and pull the chair out, preparing it for Arthur. Arthur sits down, looking at the breakfast completely speechless, sometimes he doesn’t give Merlin credit enough. “ I was just going to go out later and get something from the kitchens Merlin, you just came home and should be resting,” Arthur says and digs in. “I have to be a good servant sometimes,” Merlin says and chuckle lightly. Arthur smiles, with a small piece of chicken hanging from the corner of his mouth. Merlin begins to laugh, not being able to ignore how dumb Arthur looks. “What?” Arthur asks, furrowing his brows, looking a tab bit annoyed. Merlin tries to point the chicken out through his laughter, struggling immensely. "Seriously what is it, Merlin?" Arthur asks, getting up from his seat, clearly annoyed now. Merlin takes some deep breaths, managing to calm down. "Sorry, sorry...you have chicken stuck to the corner of your lip" Merlin explains, pointing on himself to show Arthur where the chicken is. Arthur sighs and wipes the chicken away with his thumb. Merlin looks at Arthur as he does so, and he suddenly stops laughing, Arthur’s lips aren’t much of a laughing matter, they're quite inviting actually. Merlin blushes heavily and grab the water jug. "I'm going to go get some more water, do you want a bath after this?" Merlin asks, his voice is a bit high-pitched, showing how nervous and awkward he suddenly is. Arthur looks at him, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Sure, a bath would be good...but go rest after, you need it," he says, brushing off Merlin's odd behavior as him just being exhausted. Merlin nods and hurries after to prepare the bath for Arthur. Luckily people were just getting up at this hour so there weren’t any distractions, and he quickly gets the bath ready for Arthur. “Your bath is ready... I’ll be taking my leave now” Merlin says before Arthur even gets the chance to say anything, Merlin wants to leave before Arthur steps out from behind the partition wall with just a towel around his waist. "Wait, let me check the water before you go," Arthur says and step out from behind the partition wall. Merlin looks away, not wanting to see Arthur's beautifully sculpted body, knowing full well he won't ever be able to focus again. 

He had seen Arthur's body before, of course, he has, but that was before he realized his feelings for Arthur, now everything has changed. It’s honestly a little hard being Arthur’s servant when he has those kinds of feelings for him, it’s hard not to stare, touch or just resist him, but he has too. He has to be strong and act as nothing has changed. With everything, he's been through, this is surprisingly one of the hardest things to do.

Arthur brings Merlin out of his thoughts as he dips his toes into the water and turns to Merlin. "It's great, you can go rest now," Arthur says, dropping his towel and getting in the tub. "Thank you," Merlin says quietly and rushes to his chamber, going right passed Gaius. 

Gaius enters Merlin's room, seeing him having his face buried in his pillow. "Hello, I sure missed you too," Gaius says. Merlin looks up, his face bright red as the image of Arthur's body burns into his mind. "I'm sorry…" Merlin mutters. Gaius just smiles and sit down next to Merlin, pulling him into a hug. "So how have you been? Is Hunith okay?" He asks. Merlin nods and smile, happy to get a distraction from his own mind. "I've been good, it's been nice to spend some time with my mom, and she's much better now," Merlin says, smiling brightly as he thinks about the two weeks he spent with her. Merlin starts to forget about the image of Arthur's beautiful body as thoughts of the time spent with his mother occupies his mind.

"Oh, also I'm sorry I left you alone with all this work" Merlin quietly says, looking down at his hands. "It's alright, the knights have been of great help," Gaius says, giving Merlin's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Merlin makes a confused expression and furrows his eyebrows tight together, that is definitely not what Arthur had told him. 

Merlin wonders why Arthur would lie to him like that. "So you haven't been buried in work with no one to help you?" Merlin asks, trying to understand the situation and make sure he heard correctly. Now Gaius is also looking confused. "No? Who told you that?" Gaius asks, raising his already raised eyebrow even more. "Arthur, that's how he convinced me to come home a few days earlier….that's weird" Merlin mumbles the last part, deep in thought as to why Arthur would lie to him. Gaius then smiles, now understanding the situation. He's aware of both the guys feelings, everyone is except for themselves. "Yes, that's a bit weird, but I'm sure he has a good reason for doing so," Gaius says, getting up from the bed and leaving Merlin's chamber, so he can rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur is happy to wake up to Merlin's voice again, but of course, he doesn’t let that show. "It's too early" Arthur groans and sleepily pulls the blanket over his face to hide from the light that Merlin had let in. "You have a meeting to go to, get up," Merlin says, pulling the blanket away from Arthur's face. Arthur groans again, but gets up nonetheless and walks over behind the partition wall to get changed. Merlin is quick to help him and Arthur is so thankful for not having to ask Gaius again or struggle with it himself. This is one of the things that Merlin does that he will never take for granted ever again.

Merlin finishes dressing Arthur and hands him some paper. “The court is awaiting you,” Merlin says quietly. Arthur nods and takes the paper, smiling softly as he goes to the door. “My armor needs to be polished, see to it before I return,” Arthur says before walking out the door. Merlin sighs and goes down to the armory, getting starting on the job Arthur had sent him to do. 

Someone enters the armory, Merlin looks uptown see who it is, but he barely gets the chance to before he's pulled into a tight embrace. "Merlin! I've missed you, when did you return?" A familiar voice asks Merlin, he recognizes it instantly. "Gwaine, I missed you too," Merlin says as he returns his embrace. "I got back yesterday, I'm sorry I didn't come by, I was very tired" he apologizes. Gwaine pulls away from the hug, so he can look at Merlin. "It's alright, finish polishing Arthur's armor and come say hi to us in the training court" Gwaine says as he gets up, grabbing the thing he needed and leaving. Merlin uses magic to finish the last armor and go out to the knights.

Once he walks out on the training court, everyone stops what they’re doing and go embrace Merlin, telling him how much they missed him and asking him about all the things you ask someone about when they have been gone for a while. Merlin answers, chuckling and laughing, happy to be back. "I'm so glad you're back, Arthur is so grumpy and down when you're gone," Percy says at some point. Merlin laughs, not believing that one bit, Merlin has not such effect on Arthur, Merlin is just a servant.

Arthur walks towards the training court and the chattering fades out as he gets closer. He looks to Merlin, seeing him being surrounded by the knights. "Have you finished polishing my armor?" He asks. Merlin nods and walk over to Arthur. "Great, training resumes in 10 minutes...come with me Merlin," Arthur says and begin walking towards armory, Merlin follows troop. Once they get there Merlin begins to give Arthur his armor on. "What were you and the knights talking about?" Arthur asks if Merlin wasn't as dense as any anime harem boy he would notice the jealousy in Arthur's voice, but sadly, he is as dense as any anime harem boy. "Just how I've been and about my mother...how did it go with the court?" Merlin asks, the atmosphere is a bit tense, so he assumes Arthur got some bad news. "A group of bandits has been terrorizing the small villages at the outskirts of Camelot... I sent some men to scout the group, so we can figure out how to handle them" Arthur says, confirming Merlin's thought. "I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems," Merlin says, trying to be optimistic, Arthur just nods and head out to the training court.

They resume their training, Merlin watching from the sideline. He looks at the knights, they're all very pretty, Gwaine has a charming smile and beautiful, flowy hair, Percy has the most wonderful biceps, Leon’s curls bounce so beautifully, like Merlin's ass would do for Arthur ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) , but it's nothing compared to Arthur if you ask Merlin, Merlin thinks Arthur is the most beautiful man to ever exist, he is absolutely breathtaking. 

Later that day the men Arthur had sent out returns. They quickly go to Arthur to tell him about their discoveries. “Sire, the group is much larger than we anticipated, we think they have recruited some of the villagers, and they’re headed towards Camelot” One of the knights explain to Arthur. Arthur deeply sighs before speaking, “tell the knights to come to the room of the round table” Arthur announces and leave them to go tell the other knights. 

Arthur and the knights are all seated by the round table, while Merlin quietly stands behind them, ready to act on any order he might get. Arthur explains the situation and how they should handle it, that they should look out for the villagers and protect them since they most likely have been forced to join the bandits. “We ride tomorrow at dawn,” Arthur says after having picked the knights that’ll be needed. They all part after this, preparing for what whatever might happen tomorrow.

Merlin later comes to Arthur’s chambers to bring him his dinner. Arthur just looks at it for a while before looking up at Merlin. “I want you to prepare my armor and sword” He simply says. Merlin smiles gently at Arthur, “I’ve already done it” Merlin says and point to the end of the table where it’s all laid out, Arthur hasn’t noticed it due to being busy with planning for the next day. Arthur chuckles at himself, feeling just a tiny bit dumb. “Thank you, Merlin,” Arthur says with a soft tone, he had become much better at saying those words after his near-death experience that terrible day.


	4. Chapter 4

Merlin finishes preparing Arthur's horse and begins on his own. "You're coming along?" Arthur asks, looking at Merlin. "Of course, are you surprised?" Merlin asks smugly, raising his eyebrows at Arthur. "Honestly...no" Arthur replies with a small chuckle. "Good, cause you should know by now that I'll always be by your side," Merlin says and get up on the horse. A light tint of pink shows up across Arthur's cheeks, "always…" he quietly whispers to himself as he gets up on his horse too. Merlin smiles brightly, the innocent, bubbly personality of the young man he was when came to Camelot years ago, shining through. Arthur smiles to himself before turning to look at his men, he nods to them and rides out of Camelot, Merlin and the knights following in a tight troop. They ride towards the place where the bandits were last seen. “Arthur it’s getting dark, we should make a camp and stay put until dawn,” Merlin says, a slight worry in his voice as the dark begins to fall upon them. Arthur ignores Merlin’s whine and keeps on riding forward. Merlin sighs and rides up on the side of Arthur. He reaches out and gently touches Arthur’s arm, gaining his attention. “It’s getting dark Arthur, we need to make a camp, you know that,” Merlin says softly. Arthur looks at Merlin, his face softens, and he hesitantly nods. “Alright lads, let’s set up camp for the night, we’ll ride out again at dawn” Arthur announces. 

The knights begin setting up camp, Gwaine and Percy go to collect firewood. Merlin tends to the horses until Gwaine and Percy return with the firewood, once they do that Merlin uses his magic to light it up, there’s no reason for him to do it manually now that magic is legal and everybody knows about his former secret. A little while later, Merlin begins to make food for them all, Arthur sits around the fire with the knights, but his focus isn’t on them, it’s on Merlin. He smiles and a faint blush spreads over his cheeks, but if he was to be asked about it, he would blame it on the cold; he will probably never admit his feelings for Merlin. There are many reasons for Arthur’s want to keep his feelings secret, but the biggest one is his fear of being rejected and their friendship being ruined, Arthur couldn’t bear to lose his best friend. 

Leon looks at Arthur and notices that he seems a bit off, he scoots over next to him. “What may the cause of that long face be?” Leon asks, putting a reassuring hand on Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur gives him a melancholic smile and shrug. “It’s nothing important, don’t worry about it” He says. “Arthur don’t lie to me, I can see something is bothering you,” Leon says softly, the concern and worry is clear in his voice. Arthur sighs quietly and get up if he has to talk about it, he doesn’t want Merlin to be near. “Come with me then,” Arthur says, loud enough for only Leon to hear. He begins walking towards a remote place where they can talk in peace. 

Arthur crosses his arms over his chest, wondering if he should even tell Leon. “So what’s wrong? You can tell me” Leon says and give Arthur a soft, trusting smile. Arthur looks up at Leon, his face softens, but it’s still filled with uncertainties and worry. Leon takes a deep breath, thinking about all the things that might be bothering Arthur when it suddenly hits him. “Is it Merlin?” he asks, Arthur’s lips part as if he’s going to say something, but no words come out, so he just nods. “Why can’t you admit your feelings for Merlin? It obvious, why can’t you just tell him how you feel?” Leon asks. Arthur exhales irritably through his nose and takes a step back, looking a bit hurt. “I can’t! How can I admit I think about him all the time or that I care about him more than anyone? How can I admit that I don’t know what I’ll do if any harm comes to him?” Arthur asks the hurt is clear in his voice and movement, he is restless, walking around and speaking with his hands. Leon is shocked, he would never have imagined this to be his reaction. “Why can’t you?” He asks quietly, fumbling with his hands. “Because nothing can ever happen between us, to admit my feelings knowing that...hurts too much... He’s my servant, it can never and I’ll never do anything to risk our friendship breaking… I can’t” Arthur explains, he is now crossing his arms over his chest again. He is hurting.

"The food is ready!" Merlin calls out back at the campsite. Arthur sighs and looks at Leon. "Please forget we had this conversation," he says as he turns around and walks back to the campsite. Leon stays behind for a bit, processing the information he just received, nothing could have prepared him for that outburst Arthur just had.

The evening goes on from there, and they all eat, do what they have to do and so on, but Arthur seems very distant throughout the whole thing, which Merlin, of course, notices. “Are you okay?” He asks as he sits down next to Arthur. Arthur looks at him, relieved that he has the battle to blame his mood on. “Yeah… I’m just nervous about the battle” he answers quietly. Merlin smiles, lighting up the dark and Arthur's mood. “Don’t be, we can handle it, we have been through worse” he says cheerfully. Arthur nods, knowing that Merlin is right, they had dealt with far worse than a group of bandits. Merlin looks at the fire, taking in the comfortable silence before he has to go collect more wood, so the fire doesn’t go out in the middle of the night. He then gets up, glancing quickly at Arthur. “You should sleep soon, it’s getting late,” he says caringly. Arthur huffs and smile, he appreciates Merlin’s tend and worry towards him, especially since he hasn’t really gotten it before. “You too” he quietly says as he watches Merlin go out to collect more wood.

He goes over to his sleeping spot, but he notice that Merlin's things isn't near him. He looks around and see it over by Gwaine, luckily for him Gwaine is sleeping so he won't notice Arthur moving Merlin's things over besides himself. Once he has done that, he gets into his sleeping spot and wait for Merlin, he can and will not sleep until he returns, he needs to know he's okay. 

Just when Arthur is about to get worried and go look for Merlin, he returns. He fixes the fire and walk towards Gwaine, only to realize his things is no longer there. "What? Didn't I put my things here?" He mumbles confused to himself, scratching the back of his head. "Merlin, here" Arthur announces, not loud enough to wake up the knights, but loud enough for Merlin to acknowledge it. He walks over there and look between Arthur and his things. "Have you moved my things?" He asks, not that he minds, he just wants to know. He gets in nonetheless. "Are you accusing your king? Do you know how dangerous that is? I should have you hanged!" Arthur replies dramatically. Merlin laughs quietly and shake his head. "Go to sleep" Merlin says as he lays down and snuggle up over whatever he has to cover him. "Ordering me around now? Who do you think you are?" Arthur asks, continuing the banter, but as he does he do what Merlin told him to do, he knows he is right, he just can't resist playing around with Merlin a bit.

Merlin wakes up early, having no memory of feeling asleep. He sighs and get up, going to tend for the horses before making food for the knights, because they can in no way fight a battle on a empty stomach. The knights soon begin to wake up as the smell of food fills the camp, the last one to wake up is Arthur.

"Arthur, wake up" Merlin says, slightly shaking him. Arthur groans and swat Merlin's hands away, nothing that Merlin hasn't experienced before. "Get up, sire" Merlin says more seriously and less sweet. Arthur groans again, hesitantly sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Good Morning sunshine" Gwaine says, ruffling Arthur's hair as he walks by, this wakes Arthur up, he quickly rushes after Gwaine. Luckily soon after that, everything quiets down and they pack up and ride out towards the battle.

The ride goes by quickly and soon they arrive at the point of attack. They stand tall, ready for the battle to begin which they don't have to wait long for. The bandits come running towards them, the battle has begun.

Swords are flying around their heads, soon the air is filled with a strong smell of blood and iron. The sun is going down, but the battle is still going strong. The dark puts them all at a disadvantaged, they can hardly see the swords being swung at them.

A man charge towards Arthur, using the fact that Arthur's back is facing towards and that he is occupied with fighting other bandits. Merlin notice the man just seconds before disaster and scream out Arthur's name in pure distress, magic bursting out and blowing the man away. Merlin had always been good at keeping his magic in check, but ever since Arthur nearly died, he has struggled with during so. He's fear of losing Arthur and his protectiveness has only grown stronger.

Arthur looks up just in time to see Merlin pass out from over exhaustion and fall to the ground. Arthur rush over to him, pulling Merlin close, resting his head on his lap. Percy walks over to them, giving the pale, limp Merlin in Arthur's lap a concerned glance. "You should bring Merlin back to Camelot Sire" Percy says. "I can't leave my man behind" Arthur complains, his face grimaces in distress. Percy looks to the side and chokes back a chuckle, not wanting to disrespect his king, especially not when he's in is much stress. "My sincere apologies Sire, but we've managed without you before, we can do it again, you've trained us well...Merlin really needs medical aid, just look at him" Percy says quietly, Arthur is just about to get offended until he looks at Merlin, seeing that he's paler than usual, which Arthur didn't even think was possible.

Arthur picks up Merlin, carrying him bridal style and gently putting him up on the back of his horse. Arthur glances back at Percy who gives him a reassuring smile before telling him to go. Arthur hesitantly hops on the horse, checking on Merlin and sighing before he rides of towards Camelot.


End file.
